Hong Kong’s East Dam buzzes with mainland Chinese tourists during ‘golden week’

Hong Kong’s High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung was packed with hundreds of mainland Chinese tourists on Thursday as the five-day Labour Day “golden week” holiday began, with a heavy police presence deployed to maintain order. The reservoir’s East Dam, which has become a hotspot among mainland visitors after being promoted on various social media platforms, was guarded by police officers and staff members from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. In a social media post, the department said acting director Patrick Lai Chuen-chi and assistant director Jackie Yip Yin visited the East Dam on Thursday. The department added that it would continue to observe the flow of people at the site over the next few days and share the latest updates on its social media pages. A Post reporter spotted hundreds of tourists at the site, with the crowds mostly composed of mainland visitors. Among them was Felix Lee, 30, a tourist from Guangdong who said he was planning to go hiking on the MacLehose Trail. “I came here today to hike. I saw that this location is a very famous spot. It is one of the hiking trails that people recommend online,” he said, noting that he would spend two days in the city. Lee, who is visiting with some friends, said he decided to go to the East Dam after seeing recommendations on social media platforms Douyin and RedNote. According to Immigration Department statistics, more than 253,200 visitors had entered the city as of 9pm, including more than 213,000 from the mainland. Nearly 282,000 Hong Kong residents had left the city by that time. Tourist Wen Haozhou was visiting Hong Kong from Jiangxi. He also said he would go for a hike on the MacLehose Trail after seeing recommendations online. “It is very nice here,” he said. “I am from the mainland, so we rarely get to see the sea … the view at the seaside is very beautiful.” He added that he was planning to use two to three days for hiking, before spending half a day sightseeing. “I would like to see Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Kowloon. I want to see fairly well-known places,” he said. The situation at the East Dam on Thursday stood in sharp contrast to the chaos previously seen at the site amid heavy crowds and long lines for public transport. A Post reporter observed multiple police vehicles stationed at the East Dam, with many uniformed officers deployed at the site. Staff from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department were also at the site, where they answered questions from tourists and warned visitors against breaking rules. Public transport was also abundant at the site, with taxis and minibuses seen constantly ferrying visitors in and out of the hotspot. A visitor from Guangzhou, who only gave his name as Chan, said he saw some posts on RedNote complaining of long queues for public transport at the East Dam a few days ago. “This situation is much better than I expected. We took the MTR and then a taxi to make it here. It was quite smooth and convenient, there were no traffic jams at all,” he said. Chan, who was visiting the East Dam for the second time since 2024, said the site had more visitors and police compared with the last time. “We see a lot more police here today … I think they are here to manage the traffic after reports of traffic jams here a few days ago,” he said. “I feel more secure with them here, they will help raise service standards.” Authorities said they would take several measures ahead of the holiday to avoid a repeat of the chaos seen before, including boosting the number of minibuses at the site. Tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung, who inspected the site on Thursday, said that traffic at the East Dam was smooth, adding that public transport was able to cope with the flow of people. “It is a bit of a shame there is no place to even buy a bottle of water, so this is an issue. However, people who come here enjoy the scenery and the natural environment very much,” he said. “There are also quite a few people who have come here just to hike the MacLehose Trail. Our hiking paths, our countryside, as well as these types of excursions are very popular with tourists.” The popular 100km hiking trail crosses much of the New Territories.

Hong Kong’s East Dam buzzes with mainland Chinese tourists during ‘golden week’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Police officers and staff members from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department guard the hotspot to maintain order

Police officers and staff members from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department guard the hotspot to maintain order